Archived News:

Wednesday, Dec 18, 2013

A listing is now on Amazon.com
for the online game code for Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, the upcoming
Windows edition of the stealth/action sequel (thanks
DSoGaming). We
recently
learned this is due "any day now," and the listing shows a January 9, 2014
release date, which is certainly "any day," though not necessarily "now." The
listing also includes the following system specs:

CBE Software announces a name change for J.U.L.I.A.: Enhanced Edition,
saying the game is now known as J.U.L.I.A.: Among the Stars. They say
this reflects a change in direction the project took when its Kickstarter
campaign generated. "With different and more detailed gameplay mechanics,
reworked story and ramped up visuals, simply adding the words 'Enhanced Edition'
no longer made sense," explains Jan Kavan, CBE software director. "We turned to
our backers and asked about their opinions on a new name for the game and the
result is a title we and our backers are very happy with. I also believe that
the name better reflects the science fiction theme of an adventure game set in
space and the heart of our story." Here's their updated description of the
game:

The story centers on Rachel Manners, a 35 year old astrobiologist.
She is a member of an elite group of scientists, chosen to embark on one of the
most critical missions ever conceived on Earth. Now Rachel is alone, orbiting an
unknown planet. Her only companions are J.U.L.I.A., the space probe’s artificial
intelligence and Mobot, a huge reconnaissance robot. Together, this unlikely
trio will explore the mysteries of this solar system. But are they prepared for
what they will find?

The game is controlled through various computer interfaces and all the visual
feed is delivered back onto the space probe through the built-in cameras of
Mobot – a highly sophisticated exploration device.

Players get to explore, analyze, interact with many ingenious high tech devices
and piece together a gripping story while traveling to planets within the range
of a solar system of Salia.

The game will be released in 2014 for PC, Mac and Linux and will be available as
a digital download on STEAM and other platforms.

A new patch is now available for Rise of the Triad, updating Interceptor
Entertainment's over-the-top shooter remake to version 1.3. The update touches
on another wild remake, as it adds Lo Wang of Shadow Warrior fame to the game,
along with five of the most popular maps created by members of the ROTT
community. This trailer
offers a look at the mash-up in action, and here's word:

With the release
of Rise of the Triad v1.3 - Interceptor Entertainment and Apogee Software have
teamed up with Devolver Digital and Flying Wild Hog to add Shadow Warrior's Lo
Wang to Rise of the Triad to engage in ludicrous multiplayer with the H.U.N.T
Team on San Nicolas Island!

Moreover, as a souvenir from his journey, Lo Wang will be bringing the legendary
Excalibat from Rise of the Triad into Shadow Warrior starting today!

Stoic Studio announces
that preorders are now being accepted for The Banner Sagaon Steam, and that in
addition to a 20% discount for the advance commitment, preorder customers will
also receive the Insane Viking pack (which will also go out to the game's
Kickstarter backers). Here's word: "Buy now to get the PRE-ORDER EXCLUSIVE - the
‘Insane Viking’ pack! Pre-order includes the exclusive Tryggvi character
(spearman class) plus a necklace that grants a +10% extra damage in combat. It
also includes three exclusive tracks created by Grammy nominated composer Austin
Wintory."

The
Altitude0 website now offers a track editor for Altitude0: Lower & Faster,
allowing players to create their own races for this online air racing game for
Windows PCs. This is offered for free, and since it runs
in any web-browser such as
Firefox or Chrome that supports WebGL, so people can play around with this even
if they don't own the game. Further, they are now splitting the game itself into
two versions, the existing paid-for release, and a free demo/track editor
testing version that's half the size and does not support all the game's
features.

Cosmonautica is about space, trading and a crew from hell. We love
trade/management-simulations and space-games like Elite II, Patrician or
Transport Tycoon. But we also dig humor, characters and emergent stories. So we
put in some personal touches like in the Sims.

So we got: Trade, Fight, Explore & Care. In a nifty little sandbox simulation in
the stars. It’s currently in an early alpha stage.

Ragequit Corporation announces that Strike Vector will enter open beta
testing in early January 2014, allowing players to test fly this airborne
shooter. Here's word: "Strike Vector is a new kind of fast FPS which takes place
in the sky in a post-apocalyptic cyberpunk world. In the pure tradition of the
sacred monsters of hardcore FPS such as Quake 3, Strike Vector will offer you a
massive challenge if you want to stand against the best players." Here's
a trailer celebrating
the news: Continue here to read the full story.

The DC Universe
Online website announces they are granting free temporary Legendary
Membership in the superhero MMORPG to lapsed former legendary members who paid
for at least one billing cycle and whose accounts ended in good standing. The
free access runs from now until January 15, 2014. Thanks
Massively.

AMD now offers new version 13.12
WHQL-certified drivers for AMD/ATI accelerators, as well as a new
Catalyst 13.11 Beta Driver for Windows and a new
AMD Catalyst 13.11 LINUX Beta V9.4 Driver. The new version 13.12 drivers
include support for recently released new graphics cards along with improved
support for a number of games. They also address the micro stuttering that can
plague multi GPU configurations, saying: "Frame pacing ensures that frames
rendered across multiple GPUs in an AMD CrossFire configuration will be
displayed at an even and regular pace."

A new cinematic trailer
from Thief tells the story of the Queen of the Beggars, one of the
characters in the upcoming stealth/action reboot. Here's some background:
"Nobody knows how old the Queen of the Beggars actually is; rumour has it she's
as old as The City itself. Some say that although she is blind, she sees through
the eyes of rats that riddle the streets. In the second trailer of the Stories
from The City series, the wise old crone gives her views on the City as it goes
through a time of death and gloom." Continue here to read the full story.

In spite of just today saying that Freedom Cry DLC for the Windows
edition of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flagwas
delayed from yesterday and "will release in the coming days," it is now
available for purchase on
Steam and
UPLAY. Here's a reminder of what this adds to the stealth/action sequel:

Play
as Adewale, an ex-slave turned Assassin fighting for freedom with the help of
his own Pirate crew.

Born a slave, Adewale found freedom as a pirate aboard Edward Kenway’s ship, the
Jackdaw. 15 years later, Adewale has become a trained Assassin who finds himself
shipwrecked in Saint-Domingue without weapons or crew. He now has to acquire a
ship and gather his own crew to free the slaves and avenge them. Over 3 hours of
new single-player gameplay!

According to the complaint,
defendants’ Class Period statements were materially false and misleading because
they failed to disclose and misrepresented the following adverse facts which
were known to or recklessly disregarded by defendants: (a) Battlefield 4 was
riddled with bugs and multiple other problems, including downloadable content
that allowed players access to more levels of the game, a myriad of connectivity
issues, server limitations, lost data and repeated sudden crashes, among other
things; (b) as a result, Electronic Arts would not achieve a successful holiday
season 2013 rollout of Battlefield 4; (c) the performance of the Electronic Arts
unit publishing Battlefield 4 was so deficient that all other projects that unit
was involved in had to be put on hold to permit it to focus its efforts on
fixing Battlefield 4; and (d) as a result, Electronic Arts was not on track to
achieve the financial results it had told the market it was on track to achieve
during the Class Period.

The Windows edition of the Freedom Cry DLC for Assassin's Creed IV: Black
Flag is not yet available, proving it's possible for a game delay to pop up
in 24 hours, as just
two days ago the pack was on track for release yesterday. The
Ubisoft forums now have an explanation from Ubisoft:

The PC version of
the Freedom Cry DLC for Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag will release in the
coming days. We are taking the extra time to apply a final layer of polish to
ensure that it meets the expectations of our fans.

Player Attack follows up on
the news
that South Park: The Stick of Truth will be censored for release in
Australia, as they have the reasons previous submissions of Obsidian's upcoming
action/RPG were rejected. They have details that may spoil gameplay if that is a
concern, but the two areas that caused problems were an alien anal probe
scenario that's been cut for the Australian release and a scene at an abortion
clinic which will apparently remain.

S2 Games announces closed beta testing us underway for Strife, which they
call "the premier second generation free-to-play MOBA. The
Strife website is where to sign-up for
possible selection to participate in the test before the game goes live for all
next year, and they say this is not exclusive to any territory, so players from
around the globe are welcome. "Each part of our development process has been
marked by intense planning, calculated execution and iterative design informed
by feedback," said Marc DeForest, CEO of S2 Games. "A natural part of this
process is to solicit feedback from a slowly but steadily increasing portion of
our fan base to ensure that the game we are creating resonates with our
community." Here's word on the test:

Determined to create a more
connected multiplayer experience, Strife is focused on giving players an
environment where they're competing with enemies, not their own teammates. With
a background of over six years in producing MOBAs, S2 has built a collaborative
gameplay design that eliminates problems that have plagued the genre in the
past. By using this development process, issues including battles over shared
resources, arguments around designated roles and general in-team toxicity have
all been addressed.

Happy birthday to Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, who turns 70 today.
His face turned 70 about 15 years ago, his liver has to be 490 (I'm assuming
seven years is a Keith Richards liver year, like dog years), but his guitar
riffs are timeless. In spite of his notorious partying, apparently the closest
he came to overdosing is that a band named themselves
Keith Richards Overdose, he
shrugged of brain surgery that was required after he fell while climbing a tree
in his 60s, and I'm pretty sure he wasn't kidding (as he later stated he was) when he
claimed to have snorted some of his dead father's ashes. And at this point I'm
becoming convinced he'll outlive us all. Happy birthday Keith, you magnificent
bastard.